Mermaids

Based on the book by Patty Dann.

Charlotte Flax (Winona Ryder) wants to be town tramp. Well, no — not really. She does want to be good and virtuous, but it's not easy — not when the local caretaker is so dreamy — not even when your favorite book is 'Lives of the Saints.' (Soundbite)

Deep down, Charlotte just wants to find her dad and be a 'normal' kid; but — deep down — she knows it's never going to happen: dad left town when she was four, and then forgot the address...

Over this void goes her crush on 26 year old caretaker Joe Peretti (Michael Schoeffling) and on top of that, like a winter coat in summer, goes her obsession with things Catholic: The Virgin Birth, the lives of the saints, flagellation — she's a Cathaholic.

"Charlotte, we're Jewish."

It's true, but Charlotte's mom is about as Kosher as pork rinds. Rachel Flax (Cher) won't serve a bagel without modernizing it; this usually means dicing it and serving it with ham, on a tooth pick.

For some time, Rachel has been schlepping Charlotte and her little sister Kate (Christina Ricci) all over the country — abandoning every 'new start' as soon as things get too normal.

Over her basic fear of growing older, Rachel has applied a philosophy of convenience — 'the freedom of the automobile.' But she's a gypsy of denial, having never looked under the hood, having never tried reverse. Then, in another new town, Rachel meets Lou (Bob Hoskins), a sort of knight in dented armor. In various ways he attempts to persuade Rachel that 'home' need not be a four letter word.